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Deep beneath the Earth’s surface, an extraordinary discovery has been made. Microbes – alive and thriving – have been found sealed within a fracture of 2-billion-year-old rock.

This finding pushes the boundaries of our understanding of life’s resilience and longevity.

Lead researcher Yohey Suzuki, an associate professor from the Graduate School of Science at the University of Tokyo, couldn’t hide his excitement.

“We didn’t know if 2-billion-year-old rocks were habitable,” Suzuki explained. “Until now, the oldest geological layer in which living microorganisms had been found was a 100-million-year-old deposit beneath the ocean floor, so this is a very exciting discovery.”

By studying the DNA and genomes of microbes like these, scientists may be able to understand the evolution of very early life on Earth.